Hi, I am just wondering. Does clothings really matter how you play in a game...Isn't it just for looks and wearing...
To quote a triathlete who once blasted by my monocoque carbon-fibre frame on his old, heavy Italian Cro-moly steel-framed racing bike, "It's all in the legs". That basic mantra holds just as true in any sport and it is relevant to the importance of things like racquets or bikes so it has to be even more so for clothing. Having said that, being uncomfortable can take your mind off the game and there is usually no reason to compromise these days. Until a couple of years ago, I insisted that it was important to wear anything but the clothing manufactured by the big brands in racquet sports. In my experience it was all made of either cotton or plain nylon or polyester. Hollow-fibre polyesters like Coolmax and others have existed for at least 15 years and yet they have been ignored by major brands in many product lines. In Korea, the only socks in the entire country that aren't made mostly of cotton are sold in mountaineering shops, are green or yellow or red and go up to your knee. In Canada, they actually sell socks for sports (ie. made of Coolmax) in sportswear stores so it is quite easy to avoid having to trudge around the court in waterlogged socks and shoes all summer. T-shirts are another category in which I have always avoided brands like Yonex. In Korea, at least, up until a year ago, everything was 70s-style polyester like my old high-school basketball uniform. The style, as far as I can tell, is intended to conform to an archaic dress code for badminton and tennis. The button-up neck might give you a little more ventilation than a crew-neck on a regular T-shirt but I find it's a lot easier to find T-shirts in Coolmax and that is always cheaper than buying something that says "Yonex" or "Carlton". The sleeves on so-called "badminton shirts" also tend to be too long and that can be annoying for the quick swings required in badminton. As for shorts, I do actually end up getting badminton shorts, now. I find I don't mind having the pockets, most brands have switched from the old tennis-style button-and-fly to full elasticized waist bands and Coolmax shorts were never that easy to find from non-badminton suppliers, either. Furthermore, in Korea at least, brands like Carlton and Hi-tec have come out with hollow-fibre polyester models and it's generally easier to find shorter legs in badminton shorts than in those made for other sports. Let's be honest, when was the last time you saw shorts made for basketball, tennis, or hiking that stopped anywhere above your knee-cap? It's different if you're over 6' but for the rest of us, having shorts that stop at mid-thigh or higher makes the lunging required in badminton a lot easier. In short, badminton clothing has always been governed more by tradition than practicality. If that changes - as with the emergence of Carlton Coolmax shorts or the sleeveless mini-dresses that make Gail Emms and Pi Hongyan look so comfortable - then go ahead and buy from the top brands. But keep buying Coolmax socks from MEC or Running Room until Yonex, etc. wise up on that one, too.
for me it helps if your clothes are made for badminton, before ive tried wearing clothes made for other sports, but as my skills improved i found out that you should wear clothing that stretches easily and doesnt hamper your movement and wont stick to your skin if your prespiring a lot. i dont know if its all in my mind but i cant seam to move properly if for example the shirt im wearing sticks to your skin if im wet with sweat, or the sleeves are to tight around my arms its like somethings holding you back so the power is not there or your thinking at back of your mind what if you exert alot you might rip your shirt:crying: (well its all good but what if it was your shorts are the one that were suddenly ripped )
up until recently, I would be the last person to ask about whether a t-shirt or shorts make any difference to a person's game. after trying and being convinced into using dry-fits and similar technology clothing, I have to admit these types of clothing does help my game. In particular, it's not the first game that it shows it's mettle. Rather in the later games or as the day wears on, is when I found these outfits to really help. Wearing my older cotton clothing, after a few games and breaks in between, I would have either been forced to change outfits, or literally fighting with my own clothing as the wet shirts adds to the effort of playing. In a colder gym, the cotton shirts also had a very negative chilling affect on the body and made it harder to get the body back to temperature in between games. I have also noticed that designs in these outfits vary substantially between sports. Having accidently bought some designed for cycling and and some for soccer, the designs and cut of the shirts do affect the movement of the arms and shoulders. Although not likely to be too much of a concern in the early stages of a match, but as you get tired over the length of a long tournament day, it will all add up eventually.
Clothings does matter , it is as important as what type of shoes you are wearing on court. The clothes that you wear have to be comfortable and does not hinder the way you play your game. May it be sleeveless or short sleeves.
Sounds fine but too distracting. When I was a boy I used to play without shirts, but always with shorts. During the Malaysian emergency I used to play all sorts of games with the British soldiers, who were then in Malaysia. In their military compound the soldiers used to play soccer wearing absolutely nothing but their birthday suit. I was then too young to know why, and assumed it was the English way. But I got wiser later when I found out that soldiers from the then Rhodesia, West Indies, Kenya, and Nepal never played games with nothing on.
lol Not yet :crying: But sometimes I want to take all my clothes off because of too much sweat Since it's not nice, I do it in the shower room instead
Clothing does matter I'm a big guy so, with the heat and humidity from where I come from, I need something to help wick the sweat away and does not stick to my skin. I've tried cotton shirts but they give me a heavy feeling and just does not dry fast enough. I tried some soccer shirts because I like the designs, but since their made for soccer they don't cool me as much as the Victor and MMOA Hi-Cool Shirts. Clothing does matter if you want to focus on your game and not be distracted and have a feeling of discomfort. Those dry fit and Clima Cool shirts for Tennis work fine in the badminton court but they do get kinda pricey.
Do you really think dry cool shirts are more comfortable and cool your body better? The rate of evaporation will be faster on a wet cotton shirt than a dry cool shirt, making you feel cooler although more wet. Water on your skin cools best, air is a distant second. All dry cool shirts do are to merely transfer your sweat from the skin to another outer mesh of fiber, which actually has a lower evaporation rate. If you play in extreme temperatures of 35 degrees C and a relative humidity of 88% or more, leaving your sweat on your skin may save you your life; dry cool shirts may kill you.
If I did that, it would be too distracting... for everyone... and not in a good way. :crying: (I've got to get back to the gym!!!)
Is this your own deduction about coolmax killing someone or have you heard experts warn of this? My apologies if you're an expert yourself. If we're all just combining known science with our own deductive skills, then let me offer my own take. As, I understand it, the reason that sweat on your skin keeps you cooler is just that it requires your body heat to heat the water to the point that it will evaporate. If there is something on your skin that is preventing the sweat from evaporating, then the sweat itself simply increases in temperature and doesn't draw as much heat from the body (ie doesn't cool it down as much). What would prevent the sweat from evaporating? A cotton shirt with a capacity for soaking up sweat might do it. If there is more sweat on you or in your shirt, that means that less is evaporating which means that less body heat is being used. One gets hotter on a humid day for the same reason. The body gets just as hot but the humid air doesn't take water vapour from your skin surface so you get wetter, regardless of what you're wearing, and your body heat just makes the sweat hotter instead of causing it to evaporate. Sweat can't evaporate into a wet T-shirt just as it can't evaporate into humid air. If the sweat is being drawn away from the skin at an appropriate rate, the body's heat is still being used to evaporate the sweat and your body is being kept cool. I find it hard to believe that a Coolmax shirt could magically wick all the sweat away leaving no moisture for your body to heat up and evaporate. I haven't done the research. I'm just deducing. Let me know if there is a flaw.
Sorry Taneepak, your analysis is just too extreme and not correct. The CoolMax/Dry-Fit/ClimiCool/Dry Cool/Cool Dry stuff evaporates at a much higher rate than cotton. In fact, wet cotton is one of the hardest things to dry. And it doesn't have the chance to "kill you".
Taneepak probably think all of us play in 30 deg C environment. If coolmax shirts could kill, I guess we would all have a case against the apparel industry. Class action suit anyone? They're not as rich as the tobacco companies but, hey, those companies are legitimate targets, right?
No, this is not my own theory. If you are into sports injury management, you should know about the body's internal heat regulation and preventing heat emergencies. In conditions where the air temperature is at or higher than your skin temperature, evaporation becomes the predominant means of heat dissipation. In other conditions heat dissapation from the body occurs as a result of conduction, convection, radiation (about two-thirds), and evaporation. It also says that evaporative heat loss occurs only when clothing is thoroughly wet and sweat can vaporise. It also says no no to changing to new dry shirts or anything that will take the sweat away from your skin.
Well, DuPont might not go broke in a day or two......since I ain't no smoker and avoids McDonalds as the plauge this will be my only chance to get rich
Hi Taneepak, I would like to get your openion on the following situations. Please do correct me if I am wrong. 1) When is the last time you played badminton where the indoor temp is higher than your body temp? I never experience that in my life. 2) In condition where the air temp is @ higher than your body temp, it is true that evap become the primary souce of body heat disspation. However, the main form of body transfer heat from one part to another is actually by blood (any MD here please help) Our body does not conduct heat like the normal heat tranfer in chem or physic. 3) Body can only radiat heat when the enviroment is cooler than your body temp. @ temp higher than your body temp, your skin actually obsorb heat from outside. 4) I grow up in a desert area, we play tennis in 100F+ (37.5C+) temp all the time. It is important to drink a lot of water to keep our body hydrated to EVAPERATE our body temp not radiate. Yes, in HK, air are more humid and that is why you do not see people play tennis OUTDOOR at 36C temp beacuse you will get heat stroke. 5) You need to keep your body dry so your skin can keep on pumping out sweat to cool you down. That is what cotten cloth for, not for evaperation. Have a nice weekend.
